Posts Tagged ‘
chewy vitamins ’

Fia had her first dentist appointment last week. She was a champ. How could she not be with a choo-choo train chugging overhead, a flat screen television in the dental chair, and a tub of toys to pick from on her way out? We went to Dr. Thomas Tanbonliong in Larchmont. He’s known for being one of the best dudes with kids. He definitely lived up to his reputation.

Now let me backtrack for a moment. I wrote about my frustration with all of the various (7) pediatricians I’ve been to since Fia was born. A couple of them were adamant that she gets rid of the pacifier (she calls him “Bag-dee”) by the age of 1. If not by 1, then 18 months. Well, with multiple airplane trips around that time, there was no way I was firing Bagdee.

Then came the move and a new baby, and to her credit, our pediatrician out here said to let it go for a while. If we took Bagdee away when Emmett came, Fia would see him with one and feel the shaft. Why rock the boat when the waves are already 20-feet high?

But my trouble in general with giving up the pacifier has always been the thumb. I mean you can’t cut that off. Literally. How could she play her guitar? Or drums. Or well, do a lot of things? I happen to think we need our thumbs. The few times we tried “Bye bye Bagdee,” in addition to the whining, she’d start to suck on her thumb.

Enter Dr. Thomas, who said, “Don’t worry about the pacifier until she’s 3. We don’t want her to go for the thumb.” THANK YOU!! At last, a doctor…errr, dentist, who makes sense to me.

It helps that Fia only uses it to get to sleep and then it falls out. She doesn’t have it in during the day, and Dr. Thomas confirmed she has no overbite or any signs of overuse with the paci.

I’d like to get the opinion of my fellow blogger, Julia Landry on here. She’s a dentist.

Julia, what do you say?

He also told me to start toothpaste with fluoride (pea-sized portion), which I know Julia agrees with.

What we do need to get rid of ASAP are her gummy bear vitamins. He said he’d take ANYTHING over those. He explained that since they are so chewy, they get stuck in-between the teeth. They’re finding that when kids get their first x-rays at age 5, there can be a lot of damage in the gums from the bacteria built up. And if you start off with a lot of bacteria and cavities in your baby teeth, you are more susceptible to it with your permanent teeth.

I told him we have these toddler floss things for her, though it’s more about deciding which color she wants than any actual flossing. If she were flossing every tooth, especially those in the back, then he said she could have the gummy bears. But I know she’s not going to become good at that until she’s probably my age. Maybe they should just make the gummy vitamins for grownups??

He also isn’t a fan of juice–especially if it has ANY added sugar, as that creates a film. He said to have her drink water after every meal to rinse away bacteria. And of course make sure to brush her teeth after the evening bottle. Never let a child suck milk for long periods of time without brushing. Luckily Fia downs her bottle in about 3 minutes.

When we left, I popped into a store to buy her a t-shirt. There was a huge bin of organic lollipops. She begged. She had been so good in the dentist’s chair that I gave in. I suck.

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About The Author

Jill Cordes thought she never wanted kids. But at the age of 39, after too much tequila in Mexico, she and her husband found themselves expecting baby #1. Her daughter, Fia Lily, was born in December 2009, and now Jill freely admits to eating her words. Two years later, after moving from Brooklyn to Los Angeles and taking another trip across the border, she found herself with baby #2 (apparently she only gets pregnant abroad). Her son, Emmett Redmond, was born in January 2012. Read Full Bio